Decluttering

-First thing is to thoroughly sort through everything with the questions: Have I worn it in the last year? Do I need to keep it in my bedroom? Is it practical to keep? Do I have room for it?

- Have a giveaway box/bag and/or a box/bag for consignment. To be removed immediatly after so as not to be tempted to keep it.

-Is the furniture placed properly for best use? Baskets and decorative boxes are great to use to store things in if
you don’t have enough storage. Make use of under the bed storage containers. There are often unused corners in a room that can be used for storage.

-You need more shelving or drawers to be able to maximize the space in a walk-in closet. If you have a lot of shoes, extra shelving is helpful or keep the shoes in shoe boxes or plastic boxes of the same size with a picture of the shoes on them is an easy way to avoid a large pile of shoes on the floor.

-Clothing is best grouped either according to color or according to type of clothing. Hang up as much as is practical to easily access if folding is not something you automatically do. Baskets or containers work well for socks, underware, scarves, etc. Or fold clothes, and place on shelves.

-Wherever you can, maximize the space with boxes, or extra shelving inserts so there is not as much unused space.

-Jewelry is another one of those things that if not organized properly are annoying and often end up in a jumbled mess somewhere. There are, of course, store bought containers that work well. But one thing I like to use that is decorative as well as functional is converting a picture frame into a Jewelry stand. I will give instructions on building this in one of my blogs.

-As always when organizing, keep in mind what is used most often and have these things put where they can be accessed easily.

-The first step to organizing a garage is sorting the items in the garage. The easiest way is
to set up boxes or areas to put like items. Have a for sale box, a give away box and a trash
box set up as well.

-While you are sorting ask your self these questions: What is the goal
amount of things I want to keep? How long has it been since I used it? Am I keeping it
because I like it or because someone gave it to me and I don’t want to offend them? If so,
do you really have room for it and is it practical to keep? They will most likely never
know whether you still have it or not. Try to get rid of as much as you can as organizing
it into efficient and usable order easier.

-After sorting put items into boxes that can be easily moved (sm. and med.) unless item too large,
then a rolling container is the easiest to use. I prefer plastic over cardboard as they are sturdier and
stack better. It is best to use shelving or cabinets but the boxes can be stacked neatly if needed.

- For tools, either use a board with nails or a board with holes and the appropriate hardware to hang them
neatly. The larger items can go on shelves or the floor. Use a storage container with little
drawers and label them for screws, nails and other small items. This can either be hung
on a wall or a counter. If possible hang the larger items, such as shovels, rakes, etc.

-Put a ceiling rack for larger items so you have more floor space (like the bicycles during the
winter). When putting away items, always keep in mind the things that are used the most
often and make sure they are accessible.

-When finished, you will have a neat and organized garage with the ability to find things with out having to
move everything to get to them.

You will be surprised at how much extra space your garage actually has.

Have you tried to clean the calcium deposits on toilets and sinks using the pumice stone? It is not easy and more often than not it leaves scratch marks. And using harsh chemicals is not only hard on the skin but also on the nose and sinuses.
I know a easy trick that doesn’t take alot of elbow grease or time….using something that can be cheaply bought at either Walmart or any hardware store. It is drywall sandpaper. Not the kind that looks like regular sandpaper but the one that has holes with a lattice design. I cut these in 1″ strips which are easy to hold. Amazingly enough all you have to do is rub the calcium stain with the sandpaper strip and it almost always removes the calcium. The sandpaper does not scratch the ceramic. It is sometimes easier to clean if you remove the water from the toilet. Which can be done with a toilet plunger, by forcing the water down the drain. I then rub off the calcium and flush. Sometimes you need to flush and rescrub a couple of times before it is all gone. But it is a lot easier that any other method I have tried. It also works on sinks, tubs and showers that are made out of ceramic. Though be careful around the faucets and other metal parts as those will scratch. The sandpaper will remove stains that you didn’t think could be cleaned.

Spring Cleaning can be an overwhelming task….so….just take it one small section at a time in managable amounts. It also pays to do each section thoroughly because unfinished things can come back to bite you. Take the extra time that is needed. You can then be proud of a job well done.
I prefer to start in the kitchen as it is usually used the most often and for sanitary reasons good to make sure it is very clean. Not only do you need to clean everything, you also need to declutter and get rid of unused, broken, or items that are double. If your kitchen is organized properly it will be more efficient. Are like items together? Are the things you use the most often easily accessible? These are some of the questions you need to ask yourself when spring cleaning your kitchen. I can guarantee that your kitchen will be easier to keep clean if it is organized properly and not overstuffed with unused items.
A few things that should also be done if they apply to your kitchen is 1).Place organizers in junk drawers…that will cut down on how quickly it gets messy again. 2). Set up a mail station if you open and sometimes keep piles of mail in your kitchen. I will discuss how to do that in a later blog.
If you take just a few seconds everytime something is in your hand, you will be able to dramatically reduce clutter. Or if that is not something you are comfortable with at least try weekly or monthly to sort things and put or file them away.